de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter by Matchbox

Steve Wilson
Are you doing it with wheels or floats Kelly??? I like the idea of floats😢

Kelly Wellington
Right now (and I just attached the wings) I'm vacillating between wheels with skis and floats. Given my seaplane fixation, I figure I'm most likely to go floatplane. But, y'see, I have another kit and I could do that one as a private craft (my fantasy) in 'my livery', which would most definitely have floats.

Short answer: Dunno yet.

Steve Wilson
Plenty of time, so take yer! time... Oh! and what is your livery???

Roy McKenzie
Sweet, another Matchbox kit 🙂

Kelly Wellington
My livery? That's something which should consume some time...figuring out my livery. Probably something with olive drab and metallic copper. I am rather partial to red, as well.

And yeah, Roy...this Matchbox kit is going together right nicely, too. I was worried about the windshield, but it snapped right into place and fits perfectly. I'm not sure, but I think Matchbox was the only distributor of this particular craft in 1/72 styrene.

Let there be STOL!

Roy McKenzie
The box art paint scheme looks good.

Kelly Wellington
No, no, no...Forest green and metallic copper. Yeaaaaaah...

Roy McKenzie
That would look cool also.

Kelly Wellington
The box art is the way this one is being done. It's RCAF SAR, one of my favorite peacetime miitary livery. I'm tempted to do the entire DHC line in this livery. I also wish there was such a thing as a decent 1:72 DHC-5 Buffalo kit.

Kelly Wellington
*sigh*
I've hit a snag. A big one for me. The starboard strut does not reach. I evidently put a bit too much dihedral on at the wing roots and there is a mm plus gap to the wheel faring where it is supposed to connect. I've tried brute strength with glue, but was not able to overcome the tension that forced them apart. I think I'm going to have to break out the styrene strip, cut some off and start shaping a tiny crutch for the strut base.

Argh.

David Winter
Oh wow.. I remember building that kit ages ago. It's a shame that kit is unlikely to see the light of day again.

Greg Solomon
Sounds like a pain... and you might have to match the angle on the otyher wing too... Perhaps loosen the glue with Super Solvent? Then re-position?

Kelly Wellington
Thanks, Greg, for the suggestion. I tried it and think that it may well have helped. The upshot is that I've managed to connect the strut and keep it that way. It took the solvent, some brute strength, lots of patience, and some innovative weighting. I've now a split in the fuselage roof along the centerline due to the wingtab of the downpushed wing pushing that side of the fuselage cabin up. That can be fixed with some putty and sanding.

As for the kit....I'm hoping that Viking, the new BC owner of ALL the DHC designs, will authorize another release and we'll see it come out again. Viking seems to be sitting on it, trying to sell the expensive mahogany models.

Anyway....Onward!

David Winter
Hmmm, never heard of 'Viking Models'. I've seen a lot of wooden desk models but they're really of no interest to me.

Kelly Wellington
Sorry...Viking is the new manufacturer of actual Viking Twin Otter aircraft. The real thing; full size and flying. I'm assuming that they own the rights to the images, and thus to the possibility that such would be reproduced as a scale model kit. I may well be wrong about that....

So far as I know, in styrene 1/72, I think that the Matchbox kit, now OOP, is the only game in town. So much so that when saw a deal on eBay, I picked it up despite having the unbuilt kit already in my stash. Generally, folks know it's hard to get ahold of and bid accordingly high.

Kelly Wellington
I decided to go with the wheels and skis.

Kelly Wellington
Ah...Here:

Viking is the owner of the Type Design and Certificates relating
to de Havilland Aircraft product lines; DHC-1 Chipmunk, DHC-2 Beaver, DHC-2T Turbo Beaver, DHC-3 Otter, DHC-4 Caribou, DHC-5 Buffalo, DHC-6 Twin Otter, DHC-7 Dash 7.
Viking is a privately held Canadian Corporation and is not in any way, shape or form affiliated with Bombardier Aerospace or any of its subsidiaries

They're at: vikingair.com/content.aspx?id=276

As I understand it, they have reintroduced a new series of Twin Otter, and, looking at their site, a "Turbo Beaver". They buy and sell almost all the DHC line, and I heard they started out as a secondary market supplier of parts for DHC. I think it's great that they are bringing back, and updating, some great highly functional designs. There's an intriguing logo picture of a DHC type craft with four turboprop engines....interesting.

I'm hoping Viking will get wise and license somebody to do some runs of the classic DHC craft and Viking updates in scale models. Like a decent 1:72 DHC-5 Buffalo, as well as more Twin Otters.

Kelly Wellington
Okay...now with the requisite RCAF SAR colours, ready for the Future and decals.

I was a bit miffed at the inadequate livery info in the assembly instruction and was attempting to follow the colors on the box top. It was only when I was shuffling around the box for room that I realized that the livery instructions were printed on the box **bottom**. In colour, too. So, I had to triple the size of the black wing bands and apply them to the underside, too (sans engine housings). Easily enough done with black over yellow. I also attempted to do a black nose cone (which, from pix of the real things, looks to be quite common), but should have backed off and gone with the simple all yellow nose cone when it become obvious that making my own mask for a conical section wasn't particularly easy....it still looks a bit 'rough', but attempting to cover gloss black with gloss chrome yellow...well, I'll pass.

Kelly Wellington
*sigh* I knocked one of the cabin windows in trying to remove the micromask film. It must not have been secured well enough. Now, I will have to fill with clear-parts glue. A bit of a fussy fiddle, but I'll probably come out with a better final product, anyway. I've got to fill on that strut connection to cover the gaping gash at the strut root.

Greg Solomon
I'm sorry to hear about your challenges, but I'm also glad that I'm not the only one having challenges! :.

Kelly Wellington
Thanks, Greg...That's kind of my point in airing my snafus. I'm a novice and I'm learning new stuff with each kit. I still haven't had the guts to do much in the way of 'detailing' beyond Dulcoat. I still haven't invested in the compressor for that airbrush I don't currently use. I have kits that actually have instructions to saw off part of the fuselage pieces....I'm not there, yet.
*
Sometimes, I'm amazed at what a dolt I can be.... 8^D}

Greg Solomon
Don't feel like the Lone Ranger Kelly. Everybody struggles with all levels of model building. I'm working on a Unimog by Revelle and it's been one thing after another... Just last night I lost one of the door hinges. I found it the nest morning, glued to my arm. Sheesh!

Kelly Wellington
Oh, I don't feel like the Lone Ranger...more like a contestant on the Gong Show.

I have to admit that some things have not phased me. I've lost some parts and made replacements from styrene strips. I've been very pleased with the 'liquid glass' approach to small windows inadvertantly used as tiddlywinks. I have found 'lost' parts, generally tiny, not glued to myself (yet), but to other things around the workbench. I have to admit that I'm enjoying it. Which is a good thing, considering I've amassed over 200 kits.

Greg Solomon
LOL! I can just see it someday, when I have to call my wife to help un-glue me from my work bench. But we "model citizens" will persevere! (Or perspire, whichever comes first)

Robbie
Hey I have one of them languishing in my 'some day it will be done' pile.
Ones that are not done | Album by robbd01

Kelly Wellington
Me, too....8^D} I bought another at a great price on eBay. The Twin Otter is one of my faves, along with the Dakota and the Constellation.

Glenn
It's not bad kit for a Matchbox release! at least it didn't get engraved panel lines by their resident "trench digger" 😮 overall it looks pretty good what with so many nice color schemes! 🙂

Kelly Wellington
It has issues...Still, it's a fantasy. Next one, I'll do in my 'private livery'.

Greg Solomon
Glenn, that Otter be a fun build! 😉 Plane and simple.

Kelly Wellington
So...The window is fixed, better than the inserts (as expected), the strut attachment has been smoothed over with more clearpart adhesive, and the decals applied. It is finished.

Greg Solomon
Aaahhh! No Shelf of Shame for that puppy!

Kelly Wellington
That project is complete and not only is it not bound for the Shelf of Shame, it's headed to work to grace one of my workspaces (I have two cubes in two departments) as something of a show piece (it's a _rescue_ rig).
*
In retrospect, I recommend that the builder attach their selected wheel strut fuselage fairing first, then attach the wings with the struts to dry fit the wing and the glued attachment...thereby hopefully avoiding the 'too short strut' annoyance.

Mike Grant
Now that is just cool 👍

Ray Seppala
Yes, nice result Kelly 👍